Chapter 52: A New Three-Choice-One Talent

After some thought, Liu Jun decided to follow this thread.

"Forget it, let him be."

"Working for me naturally comes with compensation; I am certainly not one of those unscrupulous capitalists."

"I shall simply forge some history so he can discover this treasure."

"And while I am at it, I can firmly establish my previous week's civilization as having belonged to the Jurassic period."

It was merely a seed, after all.

Besides, he was clearly intent on opposing those major corporations, hoping to ally with the hidden King of Angels.

"In the past, there were prophets."

"In the present, there is no reason why there cannot be prophets once more."

"Coming from the past, they naturally yearn for the past and are bound to establish a new Cangwu Tree stronghold."

"As for myself, this prophet, perhaps I can appear occasionally—mysterious and ancient—to hint at them and help me earn some resources."

This era was far too transparent.

Making money on his own was difficult, but if they established a covert faction, wealth would follow.

Even...

With a sand table in his hands, could the outside world eventually transform into his own sand table world as well?

Once he possessed sufficient capability, he could take a giant cauldron, place it directly over this world, swallow it whole, and turn it into his own mushroom broth...

At that time, he would truly be the Creator, would he not?

Of course, this was merely a distant dream.

Yet what difference was there between a person without dreams and a brain-dead fool?

Furthermore, taking a step back a myriad of times.

Even if he gave them the seed, they would merely lie low and secretly cultivate their strength, building nothing more than some minor factions.

Given the speed at which they developed in reality, it could never match the rapid pace of his mushroom broth sand table world!

He could not be bothered to care about such matters; he treated it merely as a casual gesture.

"Consider it a minor sponsorship."

Liu Jun's thoughts returned to matters of importance.

...

Mushroom Number One.

This was a red mushroom shaped like a chimney.

[Blazing Hearth]: Slightly absorbs thermal energy and feeds on heat.

At first, people merely noticed that winter had grown longer throughout the world and temperatures had plummeted sharply; experts on television attributed this to the return of a minor ice age.

It was not until that fateful day that people discovered the Earth's core was cooling, prompting all of humanity to begin drilling holes toward the center of the earth in a desperate bid to save the world.

At the very center of the earth, they discovered you, the one who had drained the core dry.

And you, too, became the new core of the planet.

...

Mushroom Number Two.

This was a jelly-textured mushroom, somewhat resembling a slime in substance.

[Clear Seas and Tranquil Rivers]: Slightly increases affinity for liquids and grants a certain degree of control over water currents.

People noticed that city water pipes were clogging, and the faucets were pouring out jelly-like substances.

Later, they discovered with horror that it was a water-absorbing mushroom that had hijacked the entire city's plumbing network.

Yet by the time they reacted, swimming pools and rivers had all turned into jelly.

Until that day, when people watched in terror as the entire ocean transformed into a giant liquid mushroom.

Countless fish were frozen within you.

Panic gripped the populace.

The world began to perish because of you.

...

Third mushroom.

[Symphonic Resonance]: Possesses a slight ability to decompose metal.

People discovered a special mushroom in the scrap yard capable of degrading metal waste.

Consequently, bio-metallurgical technology flourished vigorously.

On that day, leveraging this power, humanity reshaped metals, modified their bodies, and ultimately created a new kind of mechanical saintly physique, initiating the practice of mechanical martial arts and stepping into a brand-new civilized era!

...

Liu Jun raised an eyebrow.

Absurd.

Utterly, ridiculously absurd.

Yet he had already grown accustomed to it.

It was worth noting that [Blazing Hearth] was similar to the earlier [Blending with the Dust].

One absorbed light, while the other absorbed heat, with slightly different focuses.

If they were combined...

They might well belong to the same series as the wisdom-related traits next door.

However, to Liu Jun, whether it was [Blazing Hearth] or [Clear Seas and Tranquil Rivers], both were terrifying, disaster-leaning abilities.

If allowed to develop, they could destroy human civilization.

Even the external Hot River Heavy Industries and the various corporate elites would be forced to kowtow in terror!

Turn on the faucet, and nothing comes out but sticky mushroom jelly.

Just thinking about it was horrifying.

The prerequisite, of course, was that this plague had to spread rather than being instantly quarantined, controlled, and exterminated within a single city.

Only the description of the third mushroom, [Symphonic Resonance], truly matched his benevolent nature.

A mushroom that could aid human development?

This was truly an anomaly within this mushroom soup.

Were there any other choices?

Besides, what era was this? Who still practiced sword-flight?

Without artillery filling the skies and drone armies, could one truly claim to be a Confucian grandmaster?

Metal machinery in this era naturally occupied a fairly significant status, and taking this item suited him quite well.

At this thought, he hesitated no longer.

He began to integrate [Symphonic Resonance]. The next moment, his mushroom body liquefied once more, revealing a skeleton.

Faint traces of metal actually began to appear upon the bones.

Immediately afterward, he felt a craving within his body to devour metal in order to supplement his physical form.

He went to the living room, retrieved several canned metal beverages from the refrigerator, and swallowed them whole along with the cans.

His metal-craving affliction eased slightly.

He then ran into the kitchen and devoured various utensils until they were completely gone, finally allowing him to relax.

"Refreshing! Delicious! My bite is even stronger now!"

He took a deep breath.

He was thoroughly satisfied with himself as he drifted further and further away from humanity.

Feeling himself grow stronger bit by bit, watching the mythical civilization within the mushroom soup progress step by step, and quietly farming to develop his strength helped alleviate his anxiety over insufficient firepower!

He opened the internet and re-ordered a batch of utensils online. Ten minutes later, a drone hovered outside the living room window.

Liu Jun placed the new tableware back into the kitchen before returning to his bedroom.

[Name: Liu Jun]

[Race: Fungus]

[Realm: Thunder Realm, Fifth Layer Thought Master]

[Talents: Low Consumption, Low Symptoms, Vanishing Without a Trace, Longevity, Symphonic Resonance.]

[Mushroom Broth: Low Wisdom, Medium Wisdom, High Wisdom, Blending with the Dust, Clear Skies and Gentle Breeze, Bright Moon Illuminating the Spirit, Profound Affection Leading to Early Demise, Swift as Shooting Stars and Lightning, Blazing Hearth, Clear Seas and Tranquil Rivers]

...

Before he knew it, quite a few mushrooms had gathered in the broth.

"With my life upper limit raised, my cultivation has passively advanced by two more layers."

"However, that chaotic feeling is growing stronger; the mighty powers within my whole body are conflicting and restricting one another, preventing full release. The sense of friction is extremely intense."

He felt like a clumsily pieced-together stitched monster; if he failed to sort out this power, he would sooner or later turn into an unspeakable monstrosity.

Liu Jun even had a lingering suspicion.

Merely the immense potential of the talents currently residing within his body was enough to push him directly into the legendary Fourth-Order Electric Realm.

Alas.

He simply did not yet know how to wield them.

"I still need to establish a cultivation technique, after all."

He sighed, his gaze turning deep as he looked into the mushroom broth: "Once selected, the two great divine objects shall begin their descent."

"As long as I am careful this time, it shouldn't trigger a widespread disaster akin to the Wisdom Calamity."

"After all, these newly emerged fire and water elements are no different from the previous wind, light, and evolution—they all belong to the relatively gentle category."

Liu Jun instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

Having just survived the Wisdom Calamity, he could finally settle down and develop in peace for a little while.

However, it was clear that his calculations had fallen short.

The divine objects of this time brought unexpected changes to the era of Xiangtuomo.